The United States Senate is poised to vote on significant bipartisan community bank regulatory relief - the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155). Please contact Illinois' Senator Richard Durbin and Senator Tammy Duckworth and ask them to support this critically important legislation. Take Action Now!

This week, the United States Senate will consider a comprehensive package of community bank regulatory relief measures that has been many years in the making. The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155) is bipartisan legislation with 25 Senate cosponsors, including 12 Democrats, 12 Republicans and one Independent.

In a letter to Illinois Senators Richard Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, the Executive Committee of the Community Bankers Association of Illinois unanimously stated, “Your support for S. 2155 will strengthen Illinois community banks, promote competition in financial services, give consumers more choices, support small-business development, home and education lending, and bolster long-term financial stability and security. Community banks bear tremendous regulatory burden and cost, and the tiered regulatory relief provisions of S. 2155 are appropriately targeted to address these burdens and deliver an economic boost to small businesses and local communities.” The letter concluded by saying, “Your vote in favor of S. 2155 is a key measure of support for long-overdue, well-deserved and meaningful regulatory relief for Illinois community banks.” Read CBAI Executive Committee Letter to Senator Durbin. Read Letter to Senator Duckworth.

CBAI joined a coalition of forty-three state banking associations to urge swift passage of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155). This crucial legislation was introduced last November by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) and enjoys 25 bi-partisan cosponsors, including an equal number of Republicans and Democrats and the one Independent Senator. The bill passed the Senate Banking Committee on December 5th (by a vote of 16-7) and is now headed to the full Senate for consideration.
This legislation contains many provisions from the ICBA Plan for Prosperity including:

Recent reports have cautioned that the large banks are seeking to gain relaxed oversight once the legislation passes the Senate and moves to the House of Representatives, where they are hoping for a more sympathetic ear. Unlike the previous Senate regulatory relief bill in the 114th Congress, Senator Crapo’s bill contains no concessions to the largest banks and financial firms.
In Capital Hill meetings the week of January 15th, David Schroeder, CBAI’s Senior Vice President Federal Governmental Relations, urged every member of the Illinois Congressional Delegation to support S. 2155. The Senate’s carefully constructed bi-partisan effort has brought more and significant regulatory relief for community banks closer to realization that at any point in well over a decade. The reason this legislation has earned such strong bi-partisan support is that it is narrowly focused to provide relief to community banks. Any attempt to relax large bank supervision and regulation will jeopardize the current strong bi-partisan support and likely derail much-needed, long-overdue and well-deserved community bank regulatory relief. Read Joint State Banking Association Letter.

CBAI looks forward to working with Jerome H. Powell as the new Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. President Trump nominated Powell on November 2, 2017, and he was sworn into office by the Fed’s Vice Chairman for Supervision, Randy Quarles, on February 5, 2018.

Powell has been a member of the Federal Reserve Board since May of 2012 when he was appointed to fill an unexpired term. He was reappointed in 2014 for a term ending in January of 2028. Powell succeeded Janet Yellen who served as Fed’s chair since 2014 and previously as vice chair. Powell brings to the position a wealth of experience in banking, finance and regulation with the Bipartisan Policy Center (D.C.), The Carlyle Group, and as Assistant Secretary and Undersecretary of the Department of Treasury (under President George H.W. Bush).

The Community Bankers Association of Illinois (CBAI) thanks Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, for questioning credit union expansion of powers and tax exemption in a letter to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). The three-page letter highlighted the limited reasons for Congress granting credit unions federal tax exemption (i.e., serving individuals of modest means and with a common bond), estimated the value of the tax exemption for 2017 at $2.9 billion, and stated that the loss of tax revenue requires close government oversight to ensure the limited purpose is being properly fulfilled. The letter specifically questions actions taken by NCUA that have relaxed field of membership requirements and lifted limits on other activity including business lending and other services that seem to go beyond the scope of their original mission. Read Senator Hatch’s Letter to the NCUA.

The letter concluded with a request for information and data, to assist Congressional committees in understanding the NCUA’s oversight of credit unions. CBAI looks forward to the NUCA promptly responding to Senator Hatch’s request for this important information to guide increased Congressional scrutiny of the unwarranted tax-exemption for credit unions.